Marketplace: "Is the U.S. headed for a repeat of the 1973 oil crisis?"
by Mitchell Hartman
There’s also resolve to make the U.S. economy less vulnerable, by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The government encourages more fuel efficiency and more oil exploration.
Fast forward to now.
“The world moved from the U.S. being the biggest oil importer, to the U.S. being the biggest oil exporter,” said climate economist Gernot Wagner at Columbia Business School.
But there’s a catch.
Even with massive new U.S. oil fields, American businesses and consumers still pay the global market price.
“And yeah, those prices just shot up,” Wagner said.
Which means a prolonged war that keeps oil prices high could still create conditions similar to the oil crises of the 1970s: driving higher inflation, and stifling growth.
Quoted in: "Is the U.S. headed for a repeat of the 1973 oil crisis?" by Mitchell Hartman, Marketplace (9 March 2026)
